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E. J. FROST. MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ELECTRIC GABLES. No.244,120.. Patented July 12, 1881.

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E. J. FROST. MACHINE FOR THE MANUFAOTURE 0F ELECTRIC GABLES.-

No. 244,120. Patented July 12,1881.

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UNITE STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

EDWARD J. FROST, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO WILLIAM J.PHILIPS, OF SAME PLACE.

MACHINE FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF ELECTRIC CABLES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of LettersPatent No. 244,120, dated July 12,1881,

' Application filedMay 23,1881. (N0 model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, EDWARD J. FROST, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia andState of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Machines for the llIanufa-cture of Electric Cables;

and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the,art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying. drawings, and to letters or figures of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to a machine for the manufacture of that class ofelectric cables in which the conducting-wires are spiral in form andsurrounded by a non-conducting or insulating substance inclosed within aflexible tube.

The object of my invention is to produce a machine by which the wiresand insulating substance are placed in a lead tube while it is beingformed, and by which the lead tube, as it leaves its forming die,isautomatically.

twisted for the purpose of giving spiral form to the wires; and,further, to secure the perfect filling of the space within the tubearound the wires with the insulating substance.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of a machineconstructed according to my invention. Fig. 2 is a top view of the same.Fig. 3 is a vertical section in the plane indicated by the dotted linea; m, Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is an enlarged diametric section of thestuffing-box and templet through which the wires pass to the mandrel.Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a modification of the reeling and twistingapparatus. Fig. 6 is a plan view of another modification fortwistingwithout reelmg.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 3, the letter A indicates a head-piece,supported by four cornerposts, B, which stand upon a platform, 0, whichis supported by legs D, the lower ends of which rest upon and aresecured to a base,

E. Upon the top of the head-pieceA are supported, between suitablestandards, the wiredelivery reels F, four of which are shown in thedrawings; but a greater or less number may be used, according to thenumber of conductors the cable is to contain.

Centrally upon the top of the head-piece is arranged a templet, G,having near its center perforations equal in number to the wires, andarranged to guide the wires in proper position to the hollow mandrelbelow. Upon the top of the templet is arranged a short hollow cylinder,9, having its top closed, and into the top of this short cylinder areinserted stuffingboxes '9 for the wires to pass through. Thesestuffing-boxes will be hereinafter particularly described.

Vertically through the head-piece A is a passage, (1, not quite equal indiameter to the bore of the tube which is to inclose the cable, and fromthe center of the lower surface of the head-piece A there projectsdownward a hollow plunger, H, the bore of which is preferably of thesame size as the passage to, and coincides therewith, and from thecenter of the lower end of this plunger there projects downward atubular mandrel, H, the bore of which is of the same size as, andcoincides with, that of the plunger.

Immediately under the plunger is a cylindrical vessel, I, the chamber Iof which is of a diameter to receive snugly the plunger H, and throughits bottom is a cylindrical passage, I through which plays the mandrelH, the said passage having a diameter to leave around the mandrel aproper space in which the lead tube is to be formed. The mandrel,plunger, vessel 1, chamber I, and passage I constitute theessentialfeatures of a pipe-press.

From the under surface of the head-piece A, and on opposite sides of theplunger H, there project downward two additional plungers, K K, havingcentral bores, which are connected with the bore of the plunger H bycross-pipes Ia and suitable transverse passages coincident therewith inthe plungers, respectively. V Directly under these plungers K K aremeltingvessels K to snugly receive the same, these vessels beingsurrounded by steam-jackets, which are connected by a pipe, is, andwhich are respectively provided with pipes 70 by which they may beconnected with any suitable apparatus for causing a circulation of steamthrough them. These vessels K rest upon a vertically-sliding platform,L, secured to and through the center of which is arranged the vessel 1of the pipe-press, the platform L bein g provided atits corners withsuitable guides, which embrace and play vertically upon the post B.

The vessel I is supported by legs 1 the lower ends of which rest upon aplatform, I, from the lower surface of which projects downward theplunger M of'a hydraulic jack, of which M is the cylinder, resting uponthe platform C.

Through the center of the bottom of the cylinder M is formed anaperture, m, which coincides with an aperture m through the platform.From the bottom of this platform there projects downward a tube, N,somewhat larger in diameter than the pipe which is to be formed by thepipe-press, and the wall of this tube has through it all around, for thegreater portion of its length, a multiplicity of perforations, a, whilethe lower end portion of said tube, which is not perforated, has screwedupon it a stout metallic disk, 07?, tapped centrally to receive it, andprojecting a suitable distance laterally.

Surrounding the tube Nis a larger tube, N, not perforated, and havingits upper end secured to the under surface of the platform C, while itslower end, outside of the tube N, is closed by the disk 12 to which itis firmly secured. Near its lower end the tube N has connected to it apipe, 12, which may be connected with any suitable water-forcingapparatus.

Upon the lower screw-threaded end of the tube N, below the disk n isscrewed a stuffing-box, N through the head of which is an aperture,through which the pipe to be formed may snugly pass, and between saidhead and the end edge of the tube N is arranged a packing-ring ofsuitable material, which the stuffing-box will press closely against thesurface of the pipe as it passes through.

a guide-tube, 0, having a flange, O, which is connected to the disk a byrods 0 between which access can be had to the stuffing-box N forremoving and replacing it, the distance between said stuffing-box andthe tube 0 being sufficient for that purpose. The bore of the guide-tubeO is of the same size as and coincides with the aperture in the head ofthe stuffing-box. I

From opposite sides of the lower end of the tubeOthere curve downwardlytwo short arms, I, having pivoted at their lower ends groovedguide-pulleys, with their peripheries opposite and adjacent to eachother, being at a proper distance apart to permit the completed cable topass between them in their grooves as it comes from the guide-tube.

At a proper distance below guide-pulleys P to permit a free swing of thecable is arranged the reel Q, upon which said cable is to be wound. Thisreel is journaled horizontally in standards Q, which rest upon aturn-table,1t, from the center of which there projects downwardly ashort shaft, R, which fits in a socket, R inserted in the base E. Thisshaft B is hollow, and downwardly through it extends a cylindricalstandard, 4, the lower end of which projects through an aperture in thebottom of the socket, and is fixed therein by means of a pin, 1. Uponthe upper end of this standard 1", which projects above the uppersurface of the turn-table, is fixed a bevel-gear, S, which meshes with asimilar bevel-gear, S, fixed upon the end of a shaft, S mounted inbearings upon the table and projecting radially beyond the peripherythereof. Upon its outer end this shaft S has fixed a small gear-wheel,T, which meshes with a much larger gear -wheel, T, loose upon theprojecting end of the shaft q of the reel. Concentrically upon the outerface of the wheel T is fixed a disk, a, the outer face of which isdished or concave.

The letter a denotes a disk having its inner surface convex tocorrespond with the concavity of the disk a. It is mounted upon theshaft Q, andis provided with a hub, a through which passes a set-screw,M, by which it may be secured to said sh aft. By moving the disk u upclosely against the disk a, pressing the gearwheel T against the collart behind it and securing the disk u, the said gear-wheel T will be heldby friction with sufficient force to cause it, when rotating, to carryaround with it the shaft q and the reel Q. The friction, however, may beso adjusted by regulating the position of the disk to that the wheel Twill turn independently of the shaft when a certain resistance isopposed to the rotation of reel.

Upon the outer margin of the under surface of the turn-table R is fixedan annular bevelgear rim, V, which meshes with a small bevelgear, V,fixed upon the end of a shaft, V mounted in bearings a upon the base E,the end of said shaft projecting outwardly beyond the legs D, andprovided with fixed and loose belt-pulleys w w, in the usual manner.Immediately below the tube N is arranged The operation of the apparatusas now described is as follows The wires from the reels F are leddownward through the stuffing-boxes g and the perforations in thetemplet G, and thence downward through the passage a, hollow plunger H,and tubular mandrel H, their lower ends being passed throughperforations in a small templet, H placed against the lower end of themandrel and knotted under said templet, so that they will not draw backthrough it. The vessels K are then filled with a fusible insulatingmaterial, and steam caused to circulate through the steam-jackets, whichmelts said material, which may be any of the fusible insulatingsubstances now in use-say, for instance, a compound of beeswax and rosinin about equal proportions. The insulating material being properlymelted, the bore'm of plunger M is to be temporarily tightly closed by asuitable plug, and the water is turned'on from the forcing apparatusthrough the pipe n, and simultaneously the chamber 1 is filled with theproperly-molten lead. The water rising through the tubes N and N, (theaperture in the stnffing-boxN being temporarily closed by any suitablemeans, or a cap with a solid head being used temporarily in place ofsaid stuffing-box,) it passes through the passage m to the cylinder M,under the plunger M, forcing upward said plunger and the parts which itcarriesnamely, the lead-holder I, platform L, and vessels K. As thelead-holder I rises the mandrel H passes downward, or the passage I ispassed upward around said mandrel, and as the plunger enters the vesselI the lead is forced into said passage around the mandrel to form aportion of the pipe, which, as it is formed, is pressed outward,carrying with it the templet H Simultaneously with the entering of theplunger H into the lead-chamber I the plungers K enter the vessels K,forcing the molten insulating material upward through the bores of saidplungers and pipes to the bore of the plunger H and downward into thehollow mandrel, filling the same and surrounding the wires, so that asthe pipe passes downward out of the passage 1 the said insulatingmaterialflows immediately into it and fills it, when the end of saidpipe carries the templet away from the end of the mandrel, the saidinsulating material being forced into the said pipe under powerfulpressure and perfectly filling it.

The charge of lead in the chamber 1 should be sufficient to form alength of pipe extending downward somewhat below the platform I, andwhen the upward stroke is completed the water is to be exhausted in theusual manner, allowing the plunger to sink downward, and more wire isdrawn ofi the reels. At this point of the operation the plug is to beremoved from the bore m of the plunger M, and the lower end of theportion of the cable formed is directed through the bore m through thecenter of the plunger and platform I, and at the next upward stroke, bythe formation of more cable, it is forced downward through said bore andthrough the passage m and the perforated tube N. When a sufficientlength of cable is formed to reach the lower end of the tube N, theaperture of the stuffing-box N -is opened, so that the end of the cablemay emerge and pass into the guide-tube ,0, from which it passes betweenthe guide-pulleys P, and thence to the reel Q, to which it is secured.After the end of the cable is secured to the reel the driving-belt w isshifted from the loose pulley w to the fast pulley w, and a slow rotarymotion communicated through the connections here tofore described towind up the cable as formed. During the temporary cessation of theformation of the cable at the points of the reversal of movementin thehydraulic jack,there being no cable at that moment to be reeled, theresistance to the rotation of the reel overcomes the friction by whichthe gear-wheel T is held to the shaft Q, as heretofore described, and

said wheel is allowed to slip, so that there is no necessity of shiftingthe belt at each reversal of the hydraulic jack. At the same time therotary motion is given to the reel upon its axis the turn-table iscaused to revolve by the meshing of the gear V with-the bevel gearrim V,and the reel is caused to revolve in a plane at right angles to itsaxis, thus causing a twisting of the cable below the guide-pulleys P,this twisting giving a spiral form to the wires, which tends to preventinduction of the said wires one upon another, as it to a great extentdestroys their parallelism, placing them in crossing planes. It furtherpermits the cable to be reeled without displacing the wires. When thewires are left straight and the cable wound upon a reel the ends of theouter wires are drawn inwardly and the inner wires are bowed and forcedinto contact with the other 8 5 wires or the pipe but when the wires arespiral each continually changes position, and therefore all the wiresare equally inner and outer wires and bend equally without interferingwith each other. When the water from the forcing apparatus flows upwardthrough the tube N it also flows through the perforations n of the tubeN and comes in contact with the cable passing through said perforatedtube, thus cooling said cable, which is necessary preparatory to itsbeing wound, the stuffingbox N preventing the escape of the water, whilethe snug fit of the cablein the passages on on m prevents the escape ofwater at the top, as no very great degree of water-pressure is required.

The stuffing-boxes g prevent upward escape of the fused insulatingmaterial. Each of these stuffingboxes consists of a screw-nipple, 9having a screw-shank, g ,which is screwed in to the head of the cylinderg, and each is provided with a screw-cap, g, the head of which iscentrally bored for the passage of the wire. Between the top edge of thescrew-nipple and the inner surface of the head of the cap is arranged asuitable packing-ring, which hugs the wire closely.

A suitable spring may be arranged to bear upon the head of each reel F,or upon the wire thereon, to steady the reel in its rotation.

A safety-valve, Z, as indicated in dotted lines, Fig. 3, may beconnected by a pipe, Z, with the upper end of one of the plungers K, inorder to relieve the pressure of the insulating material, should itfromany cause be too great. A trough may be arranged to conduct the materialescaping from the safety-valve back to one of the vessels K.

In the modification of the reeling and twisting apparatus shown in Fig.5, the reel Q is mounted in standards Q fixed to a turn-table, Q, fromwhich a shaft, Q extends downwardly through a sleeve, Q and has fixedupon its lower end a worm-wheel, q, with which meshes a worm, g fixedupon a shaft provided with a crank. From the top of the sleeve Q thereproject arms q from which rise stand ards q, supporting a horizontalannular ring or track, Q", having a beveled upper surface. On theprojecting end of the reel-shaft there is tightly mounted afriction-roller, Q having its periphery in contact with the beveledsurface of the track, and is itself beveled in correspondence therewith.As the turn-table revolves in its horizontal plane the friction of thebeveled roller upon the track causes it to be rotated also on its axis;but if the resistance to the rotation of the reel exceeds a given point,as before explained, the friction-pulley will slip on itsjournal and thereel will not be rotated on its axis. I

In the modification shown in Fig. 6 the apparatus illustrated is simplyfor twisting the cable and drawing it away in lengths from the machinewithout reeling. In this figure the letter X indicates a railway-track,one of the rails of which has its inner edge provided with cog-teeth alittle below the level of its upper surface. Y is a carriage arranged totravel on said rails, and having journaled in the side bars of its framea shaft, Y, provided with a crank, upon which is fixed a worm, Y meshingwith a worm-wheel, Y arranged to turn horizontally, and fixed upon ashaft mounted in suitable bearings on the carriage. The under surface ofthis worm-wheel is beveled, and

is in frictional contact with a similarly-beveled wheel, Y fixed upon ashaft, 3 mounted longitudinally upon the frame of the carriage in bearings upon its side bars. The forward projecting end of this shaft isprovided with a central socket, through the wall of which passes aset-screw, Y The end of the worm-shaft has fixed upon itasmallgear-wheel, Y, which meshes with the cog-teeth of the rail. The cablepasses under the guide-pulley Y from the guide-pulleys P, and has itsends secured in the socket of the shaft y by means of a setscrew. Whenthe crank is turned the carriage is driven along on the track, the wormimparts rotary motion to the horizontal wormwheel, which, by itsfrictional contact with the bevel-wheel on the shaft y, gives said shafta rotary motion, which twists the cable as it is drawn away by thecarriage.

In order that the first-formed portion of the cable may be twistedbefore a suflicientlen gth is completed to reach the reel, 1 provide theinner surface of the guide-tube O with one or more spiral grooves, o,the edges of the walls of which, coming in contact with the surface ofthe pipe, cause the cable to be twisted as it passes through saidguide-tube. This twisting in the guide-tube continues, of course, afterthe cable is attached to the reel, and thus a preliminary twist is giventhe cable, which is all the better, as the twisting should be gradualand applied to as great a length of cable as practicable at the sametime. The spiral groove may, however, be omitted.

What I claim is- 1. In a machine for the manufacture of electric cables,the combination, with a pipe-press and devices for introducing wiresinto a pipe simultaneously with its formation by said press, of twistingdevices arranged to withdraw the pipe as formed and its inclosed wires,and twist the same during its withdrawal, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for the manufacture of electric cables, the combination,with a pipe-press and devices for introducing wires and a molteninsulating material into a pipe simultaneously with its formation bysaid press for completing the cable, of devices, substantially asdescribed, for withdrawing and twisting the cable, substantially asdescribed.

3. In a machine for the manufacture of electric cables, the combination,with a pipe-press and means for introducing wires and a molteninsulating material into a pipe simultaneously with its formation bysaid press, of a reel arranged to wind the cable thus formed asdelivered from the press and to revolve in a plane at right angles tothat of its winding rotation, substantially as described, whereby thecable is twisted simultaneously with its reeling.

4. In a machine for the manufacture of electric cables, the combination,with a pipepress and means for introducing wires and a molten insulatingmaterial into a pipe simultaneously with its formation by said press, ofdevices for twisting and reeling the cable as delivered by theapparatus, and means for cooling said cable previous ,to its twisting,substantially as described.

5. In a machine for the manufacture of electric cables, the combination,with the cableforming devices, of mechanism for reeling and twisting thecable as delivered from said devices, and provided with means forautomatically arresting the reeling when excessive resistance is opposedto the same, while allowing the twisting to continue, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

6. In a machine for the manufacture of electric cables, the combination,with a pipe-press and means for introducing wires into the pipe simultaneously with its formation by said press, of mechanism operated bysaid press for forcing a molten insulating material into the pipe as itleaves the pipe-forming devices, substantially as described, and for thepurpose set forth.

7. The combination, with the pipe-press havin g a hollow plunger andmandrel, of one or more hollow plungers, K, connected with the bores ofsaid press-plunger and mandrel, one or more vessels, K, for holding amolten insulating material, and means for forcing said vessels upward toreceive the plunger or plungers K simultaneously with the operation ofthe press, substantially as described.

8. The combination, with cable-forming devices, substantially asdescribed, of the hydraulic jack having its plunger and cylinder boredcentrally for the passage of the cable from said devices, for thepurpose set forth.

9. In a machine for the manufacture of elec-;

[0 scribed, the combination, with the cable-forming devices, of thesuitably-arranged guidetube 0, having one or more spiral internalgrooves, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have affixed my sig- I 5 nature in presence oftwo witnesses.

EDWARD J. FROST. Witnesses:

L. R. FLETCHER, WALTER E. BRAND.

